Why Apple is giving away a bunch of its products to a baseball player making $6.5 million this year

Brandon Moss, a baseball player who plays for the Cleveland Indians, hit his 100th career homerun last Tuesday.

But he didn't get to keep the ball until today when Apple CEO Tim Cook announced something special at the WWDC.

Why?

Because his teammates held it for ransom.

The homerun ball he hit ended up landing in the Indians bullpen, and his teammates demanded a bunch of Apple products if he wanted to retrieve the special ball. The following note was given to him:

Apple

The note says "You get the ball when we get these items!" And every player on the list is demanding an Apple product, except for "Ricky," who's asking for either $5,000 in cash or an iPad.

Apparently, Moss - who makes $6.5 million this year in salary, according to ESPN - had not acquiesced to his teammates' demands, and the ball was held away from him. But Cook, standing on stage at the WWDC, announced that Apple has decided to pay for all the items.

It's unclear why or when the gifts will be given out, but one thing is for sure: even ball players love owning Apple products.